Hi all,I have been searching for local reputable billboard construction companies on the web, thru BBB, via Caltrans, via local county agencies, etc and am getting nowhere. Why is getting a short list of good local billboard construction companies such an ordeal ? Can anyone recommend other options which have worked for them ?

Thanks rwehuman. Many of the companies listed were outside California or the US, but I did notice a key phrase - "billboard fabricators". When I googled that, all sorts of companies came up for me. Now which are reputable and which aren't...Ugh ! Always something to read or research if you want to put up a billboard.

BTW, any truth to the rumor that the big billboard companies make it purposely difficult for new billboard companies to get started (ex. regulations, zoning, approval requirements, etc) ? A question for Frank & Dave ?

Find some Bill boards, get their tag numbers/reg numbers/license plate numbers. Contact the Planning & Zoning office or Permitting or which ever department in that jurisdiction handles outdoor advertising. Fill out a Freedom of Information request to see the file on those boards look through the permits/plans/drawings etc. and who built the board(s) should be in the file. whuaaalaa! The county already has a list of "billboard fabricators" the county does not know they have it much less call it such.I hope this helps.-Chris

Good tips there, Chris. I was planning just to resubmit my request for these signs' design docs with CalTrans, via the Freedom of Info Act, but getting their entire files makes sense. Who knows what other great info they have ? Getting a county list of BBB fabricators also makes sense.

Don't blame the big billboard companies for the barrier to entry in understanding the applicable laws to erect a billboard -- that's the fault of the U.S. government. The Highway Beautification Act was a federal invention, but the good news is that, without that law, there would be no value in billboards as the supply would be unlimited. The state governments then made it even more complicated by heaping their own regulations on top of the federal, so that even the inspectors get confused, And then the local authorities heaped more on top of that.

Once you have a mastery of the system, it's not that hard. But like a video game, until you understand what you're allowed to do and not do, it's very frustrating. But, again, this barrier is what creates all the value.

Sounds good, Frank, but when state, county & city hand you pages and pages of small typed regulations, you do get frustrated and feel a bit hopeless. It seems years ago, things were much easier than they have been in the last 10 years. In Vegas for example, Clark County development division wants you to submit an application package with several documents and an application fee of $1000, just to have it presented to a board where they can deny it.

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